So Contagious
by Rain of the Stars
Summary: What if Katara had been more suspicious at the cave in Ba Sing Se and if perhaps there had been more emotion between her and Zuko than either of them had previously thought. From Katara's point of view. Zutara Oneshot.


This is dedicated to Undead Tofu who deserved a faster update than this because she's been the one to keep harassing me about writing. I apologize for the lack of updates, but I am remarkably busy and will try to update soon. As always, I own nothing, but the plot and I hope you all enjoy this. This is heavily influenced by Acceptance's song "So Contagious" as evident by the title. There is also a line from the U2 song "Original of the Species". See if you can catch it.

_So Contagious_

"Look, I know you don't trust me, but we need to rely on each other if we're going to get out of this place."

I glanced at the Fire Nation prince warily. Was it really possible that he was good now? Could he be tricking me?

"Please," Zuko whispered.

"Why should you be begging me for help? Isn't it your sister who's holding us captive?" I retorted, avoiding his pleas for camaraderie.

Zuko's face darkened. "I'd rather not associate myself with Azula."

I could believe that. She was about as evil as a person could get, second only to Ozai.

"We're running out of time!" Zuko shouted when I didn't say anything. "Our only shot is to work together. Please, Katara."

I bit my lip, indecisive as to what to do. I had almost let him in, almost healed him with my special oasis water. Luckily, I had thought better of it. I know that I might need it for Aang later and, not only is he more essential for the future of the world, he would never think to side with the Fire Lord. Zuko had already chased us for this long. He could be trying to bait me. Then, once he captured me, he'd use me as bait for Aang. He'd already tried it once so why not try again?

"Look, I know that I'm not strong enough to face my sister alone. Neither of us will survive once she decides she wants us dead unless we're working together. We're both strong benders. We might have the strength to escape her."

My heart jolted. _We're both strong benders_. I warmed at the praise and it brought me back to the day when Aunt Wu told me that I would marry a strong bender. She couldn't possibly have meant Zuko though. He was my enemy.

I gave my head a quick shake to concentrate on the situation. Zuko was right. I was done weighing the chances. I would rather be captured by Zuko than Azula anyways. She was probably using me as bait right now too.

"Let's go."

Zuko gave a relieved smile in my direction. Despite the dire situation, I couldn't help, but notice how handsome he was; even his scar appealed to me.

_Concentrate Katara. Azula might be around any corner._

As we ran through the crystalline caves, I took the lead. "Have you ever been in these caves before?" I asked, hoping that he had. At least one of us would have a clue of where to go.

"No, I didn't even know they existed," Zuko replied.

"Great," I muttered sarcastically.

I heard Zuko's steps slow behind me and I instinctively slowed so that I didn't lose him. My body obviously was concerned for him even if my mind had convinced itself that I really wasn't.

"Zuko…"

"We have company," Zuko interrupted my thought. Immediately I tensed, waiting for Azula to burst out and shoot blue fire at us.

"This might seem out of line," Zuko said, turning to me. "But you are the only one from the Avatar's posse who I'd trust. You're the only one I would have taken this chance to escape with."

I involuntarily stepped back, shocked by my companion's words. "Do I really seem that pathetic?" I hated how that sounded. I had wanted to give off an aura of confidence, but instead I was only capable of giving one of disappointment and misery. I had been fighting all my life and to still be taken as a simple minded creature because I was a woman or because I was compassionate irritated me.

"That wasn't what I meant!" Zuko hurriedly replied. "You're a fighter and… I feel like you understand me. Even if the Avatar did seem to understand me for a moment, I could never trust him because I've been chasing him this long."

I gave the banished prince a long look. We were complete opposites. He was royalty from the element of fire and I was an ordinary person from the element of water. He tried to shut out the world. I tried to accept it. He was trying to run to the Fire Lord. I was trying to escape him. We stood on opposite sides of the same conflict. But at the same time we were the same people. We had both lost mothers who we still loved dearly. In fact, we had lost them to the same nation. We were both trying to find our places in this world. He was trying to figure out his role as the crown prince of the Fire Nation. I was trying to figure out my role as the Avatar's waterbending teacher.

In this moment, we were trying to escape together. And I knew now that he wasn't going to betray me and I wasn't going to betray him. We could both predict the other's moves. _You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun._ After all this time, we barely knew each other, but we knew the other's movements so well. It was frightening, but comforting in this moment as well. _Yin and Yang._

"It's funny. From the moment we met, I feel like there's always been this connection between us," Zuko told me with a wry smile.

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant and that was when Azula caught up with us. We had known that we wouldn't have been able to outrun her. Now we had to try to defeat her.

"Well, look what we have here. My brother and his water tribe whore," Azula drawled.

I could barely contain my fury. I didn't belong to anyone and I was far from a whore.

"Father would disapprove Zuzu. You should know that. There are better women. Take Mai for instance." Azula inspected her perfectly manicured nails.

I could sense Zuko tensing at the mention of Mai. I didn't know who she was, but she and Zuko had history.

"Mai and I don't come from the same world anymore. _We_ don't come from the same world anymore Azula," Zuko retorted. I spared a glance toward him, startled by his declaration. Maybe he was worthy of our trust. Maybe he had been lost. Maybe he belonged with the Gaang. Maybe he was exactly what we needed.

"Have it your way brother." Azula smirked as she leapt forward at us, sweeping crackling blue flames at us. Immediately, I jumped out of the way and reached backward to summon the water from the brook a few feet away. Azula turned to me and unleashed a torrent of fire in my direction. Using my water as a shield, I braced against her attack as Zuko sent his own river of fire in Azula's direction. That was when the Dai Li arrived. I felt my heart sink as I realized that Zuko and I were alone against dozens of highly trained Earthbenders and an insane firebending princess.

Instinctively, Zuko and I pressed our backs against each other. "Any ideas?" I asked, wishing Sokka was with me. At least he was never without some insane sort of plan.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he replied.

I swore under my breath and that was when our opponents surged towards us. There was no more time for thinking. It was simply a matter of trying to stay alive in each instant. My only comfort was in knowing that Zuko had my back, even though it wasn't as though he had much of a choice to begin with considering how limited our space was. I swung giant whips of water in attempts to drive the Dai Li farther back. Zuko was focusing on Azula. The heat from behind her was a strange, yet pleasant contrast to the coolness of the water she used as a weapon.

However, after fending off their opponents for a long time, I ran out of water. The Dai Li had dammed the stream and the fire wasn't helping with the supply. "Zuko, I'm out."

With the distraction, Zuko was punched by a fist of fire courtesy of Azula. He lost his balance, slipping from the crystal he had been perched on.

"Zuko!" He was falling and, in that moment, all I could think about was catching him and making sure that he wasn't injured. As I caught him, we slid until my back slammed into a crystal. My breath flew out of me and Zuko rolled away from me.

"Katara, are you all right?" His golden eyes showed me that he was worried about me, more than I thought he would ever be.

"I'm the one who should be asking you that," I grumbled at him.

Zuko blinked in surprise. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." I shrugged as I caught my breath.

"Well isn't this cute," Azula smirked from her seat high in a crystal.

Zuko and I painstakingly stood up and took up defensive positions. "Just in case we don't make it out of this…"

"Don't say that. We can win Zuko. Have faith," I interrupted.

"I believe that I fell in love with you at first sight. That's what I meant when I said I had a connection to you. I fell in love." My eyes widened in shock, but as I turned to Zuko, the torrent of emotion in his eyes and the tone that he had spoken in convinced me that he was telling me the truth.

"So was chasing us all around the world a way to profess your love for me?" I weakly teased.

"Yes and no. I know it's crazy. If we get out of this, let me hold you. Just once. Is that way too out of line?" He asked with a sad smile and doubtful eyes.

Before I could even check myself I said, "Only because it's you. Because you've found a way to break through my defenses this time. I just hope that you're not lying."

My final words were almost lost in the rain of stones that came upon us. But something told me that Zuko had heard me. That was enough for me. Because I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he was worth saving. I wanted to believe that he had changed because I saw some good in him. I saw the truth when he said that the Fire Nation had taken his mother away. And something innately told me that he was in love with me. As insane as that sounded, my heart was taking it as truth. Because maybe, just maybe, I had always wanted it to be true. Maybe I was the insane one. For falling in love with the guy trying to capture my last hope. _No_, I thought. He may be the key to my hope. He could be the final essential part to our Gaang.

All these thoughts floated through my head, distracting me as Zuko and I tried to fight our way through the Dai Li. We were fighting for our lives together. And now was not the time to be distracted; even if Zuko and I seemed to make a perfect match, we were still outnumbered by dozens. But it was a good sign that we were both able to fight. There was hope to be had and we were hanging on together.

Suddenly, Azula cried out, "Stop!"

Shocked, Zuko and I ceased our efforts as the Dai Li turned to the princess. Then, the murmurs came. "The Avatar is here with General Iroh… The blind girl is a born earthbender… Can we beat the Avatar, even if he's a boy?" The nervous whispers made me gain confidence. If the opponents were nervous, that gave us more power. We had nothing to lose so we could give it our all. They, on the other hand, did not want to lose a fight that could potentially cause them to lose ground.

"Shut up and stand your ground. We can take on these amateurs," Azula growled to her forces.

"Someone's losing patience," Zuko muttered to me.

I offered a bitter smile in return. "All the better for us"

Zuko nodded in reply. "Please let this be true."

He spoke the words that I had been whispering in my head. It would be a miracle if they did find us here.

Suddenly, a wall crumbled to reveal the Gaang along with General Iroh. I felt tears of joy start to well up in my eyes. They found us and they were ready to fight. Zuko's lips mirrored mine as they curled into a smile.

"Don't just stand there. Attack them!" Azula ordered and suddenly, the previously frozen Dai Li warriors leapt into action and the battle began anew.

Zuko and I thrust forward in a whirl of fire and water. Our newfound confidence gave us more strength and determination. I noticed that my friends were doing a brilliant job. Although we still were clearly outnumbered and undoubtedly would be unable to secure a victory, we were now capable of making an escape without any serious casualties. As long as Azula didn't have any more tricks up her sleeve that is.

Zuko and I eventually fought our way to the Gaang. By that time, we were both soaked in our sweat and injured in many ways from all of our previous struggling.

"Katara, look up!" Aang called.

Sparing a quick glance upwards, I saw that there was an opening in the roof of the cave and that my favorite air bison was waiting for us. I grinned in relief. Then, I heard a crackle and a scream. I saw Zuko leap forward to catch the falling Avatar. Without another thought, I swept a wave up to carry the whole Gaang up to the opening at the top of the cave.

When we reached Appa, I immediately turned my attention to Aang. He had been struck by lightning and his injuries were intense. I bit my lip nervously, wracking my brain for a way to fix the damage that had brought him to the brink of death.

Suddenly, Zuko spoke. "Thank goodness you didn't use that spirit water on me."

My eyes lit up. I had forgotten about it. "You're right…" I murmured. Taking the vial out of my pouch, I looked at Aang. "Everything will be all right Aang. Just hold on a moment longer." I could feel that everyone was holding their breath as I bent the spirit water onto Aang's injury. As the glow around my hands faded, I started to feel despair settle. How could it not have worked? Aang was still unconscious and, though his injury had sealed, the skin was still an angry red.

"Katara, I'm sure that he's just resting and that he'll wake up on his own time," Zuko tried to reassure me, putting a hand on my shoulder. Though its weight provided some comfort, I was still feeling the pain of my failure.

Then, I heard a groan and Aang's eyes fluttered open. "Thank the spirits!" I cried out and wrapped my arms around Aang. I was so grateful that he was all right. He was going to be fine.

The tense atmosphere dissipated and I could feel everyone's relief that Aang was healed. It wasn't perfect yet and he still had a decent recovery ahead of him, but he was going to live and be just as strong as before.

"That was amazing Katara." Zuko's compliment warmed my heart as everyone quickly gave me similar praise. But what truly reached my heart was the fire in Zuko's gaze. Any doubt I had that he had been lying evaporated. And I could feel the truth I had been denying for so long surface. I was so in love with Zuko. I had been from the moment he showed up in my life.

"Zuko… I owe you that hug, don't I?" I gave him a coy smile to which he sheepishly offered his own grin.

"Yeah, you do," he replied before pulling me into his embrace. "You know, I want everything you've got. And I want nothing that you're not. Please give me a chance. I've changed. I promised. And I know that this is a transgression of the neutral peace we had, but I want you to give me a chance at making you happy. I swear I won't let you down. Katara, I think I'm in love with you." Zuko's face was so gentle. I had never imagined such an expression on his face before, but I found that I loved it and I wanted more of it.

"Would you welcome my own confession?" I asked.

"What is it?" Zuko looked puzzled and I couldn't believe that he didn't know what I was about to say to him.

"I know that this is out of line considering that we've really only recently really met each other, but you're the only one able to drive me crazy like this. And you're the only one that I'd be willing to try a relationship with during the war." Zuko's eyes started to light up in understanding and I knew then that the words I had to say were superfluous, but I wanted to say them anyways. "I'm in love with you Zuko. I don't know why, but I am. And I don't want to deny that I've fallen in love with you like it's some sort of contagious illness I got from you. And I don't want to heal it."

"Would it be equally out of line if I said that you just said everything that I think about you?" Zuko smiled. I shook my head. He leaned forward and I reciprocated the motion.

"No way!" Sokka screeched. "You guys are not kissing while I'm here. I don't know what the hell is going on, but you guys are not about to suddenly become an insanely romantic couple and kiss in front of me. Hell, you guys are not a couple at all. Not without my permission that is, which you don't have." I began to tune out Sokka's lecture. I had seen every word coming.

"I approve," Toph chimed in. "You guys would make a great team."

"Yes, they would," Iroh consented.

"I can't believe this!" Sokka groaned and then continued on about something dealing with Zuko having chased us everywhere and that he was corrupting me and so on.

Meanwhile, I took the advantage of Sokka's busy rant to lean over and kiss Zuko. The fiery passion he exerted was overwhelming and I loved it. I knew then that there was nobody better for me. It was insane that so much had changed in the span of a few hours, but then again, maybe that change had never existed. Maybe I just needed to be honest with myself to realize that Zuko was a man with a heart of gold.


End file.
